Finally, under Yuan Xing's coaxing, Yuan Qing relented and agreed to let him try a small piece of everything.
The little kitten broke into a smile, wiping away his tears, and scurried off with his plate to find a seat.
He looked quite the part, carefully eating with a knife and fork.
Yuan Ci, the big boss, had been called away by a phone call. Yuan Qing and her companions had arrived early, and with few customers in the store, Yin Qian could manage on her own.
The sweet music in the dessert shop was pleasant and upbeat. Any troubles or unhappiness seemed trivial amidst the aroma of baked goods.
Yuan Qing chatted with Yun Manman about recent events at home while wiping cream from Yuan Xing's mouth.
Her former lack of confidence and melancholy were nowhere to be seen.
Yuan Xing wanted to use his fork to clumsily dig out the cake from the cup, but he didn't want to ruin the cream design on top.
The outer paper cup was specially ordered online by Yun Manman, decorated with adorable chasing cats and the "Perfect Sweets Shop" logo.
The cake base was soft and sweet, topped with cream in the shape of a cartoon cat. Yun Manman had added fruit as a garnish.
The small, exquisite, and cute creation was irresistible not just to children, but to many adult beastmen as well.
When Yun Manman posted photos on the "Perfect Sweets Shop" online account, it attracted a wave of attention.
Many beastmen commented: "So cute!" "Want to buy!"
"Why aren't there any of us canine beastmen? I'm shaking with anger!"
"Boss, don't be too biased. Don't we birds deserve recognition too?"
Online comments were one thing, but how to deal with customers chasing them to the physical store?
Even Yin Qian privately asked why there were no little birds.
Yun Manman, who initially only wanted to make cat cupcakes, was forced to create a set of animal cupcakes due to persistent inquiries from various beastmen.
The set included cartoon images of cats, dogs, mice, chubby birds, red pandas, and little snakes.
Each portrait was vivid and exquisite, perfectly capturing the unique characteristics of each species. Many beastmen bought entire sets after seeing them.
However, while these cupcakes looked simple, they actually required a lot of thought and time for the artwork. Yun Manman didn't want to make it too tiring for herself.
So this set of cupcakes was limited edition, available only until sold out.
Many beastmen camped out just to buy this set of cupcakes.
Those who managed to buy them boasted online: "Yummy yummy, cute and delicious cupcakes! Who managed to snag them? It's me, the little mouse!"
The smug tone made those who couldn't buy them extremely envious. They left sarcastic comments below: "Well, mice aren't as cute as bunnies after all."
"What era are we in, still promoting racial discrimination?"
"Oh my, isn't this the bunny that the boss didn't draw? Feeling bitter about unrequited love, huh..."
The subsequent bickering over the cupcakes goes without saying.
The popularity of "Perfect Sweets Shop" reached new heights because of this.
Yun Manman didn't dare look at her private messages, fearing a flood of requests to draw this or that.
Sometimes, playing deaf and dumb can lighten a cat's burden.
Miss Kitty nodded knowingly.
"Sister Manman! Can I play with this?" Yuan Xing's voice pulled Yun Manman back from her thoughts. She looked over at the sound.
The kitten had finished eating at some point and was now darting around the shop. He had somehow discovered the cat toys that Yun Manman had been keeping in a corner.
These cat toys included automatic teaser wands and cat trees. Yun Manman had initially bought them to attract furry children to the shop entrance.
However, she had forgotten to set them up and they had been left idle in the corner.
Yun Manman got up and walked over: "Of course you can. Let sister help you take them out."
The cat toys weren't difficult to assemble, but they were extremely captivating for cats.
Just one automatic teaser wand had Yuan Xing playing to his heart's content.
He lay on the ground with his upper body, his little bottom sticking up, and his tail standing tall behind him. His little head swayed left and right following the movement of the teaser wand, his vertical pupils full of excitement.
Finally feeling that his human form wasn't convenient enough, he transformed back into a little kitten with a "pop", leaping up and down chasing the teaser wand.
His milk-white base coat was covered in chocolate-colored spots, and his long tail was banded with alternating chocolate and milk-white colors, moving as gracefully as a snow sprite.
However, Yuan Xing was still too young, and his leopard cat's sleek agility was mixed with a touch of clumsiness. Yun Manman's heart melted at the sight.
The automatic teaser wand was multifunctional.
Besides the regular feather wand, it also had grooming and catnip functions, a perfect tool for soothing kittens.
Soon, Yuan Xing was lying on the ground, dizzy and rolling around. Occasionally, he would reveal his pink paw pads and round white belly.
Yun Manman looked longingly at the fluffy kitten, her hands itching.
Who could understand? Her cat addiction was acting up, but it wasn't appropriate to go and pet him.
She forced herself to look away, picking up her cup to take a sip of milk tea: "Is it okay for Yuan Xing to be like this?"
Yuan Qing was used to it: "It's fine, all cubs are like this, full of energy."
"I brought clothes with me, let him play however he wants. My cousin was driven crazy by him, that's why she dumped him on me to take care of."
Yun Manman looked at the brown ears on Yuan Qing's head: "Yuan Xing's fur color is different from yours."
At this, Yuan Qing's eyes softened with affection: "Yuan Xing has what's called snow leopard coloring, it's one in a million. This cub has been given high expectations since he was little. My cousin's husband has already decided to hand over all their family's businesses to Yuan Xing."
Yun Manman: ...
There's no need to start so early. I suspect your cousin's husband just wants to retire soon.
Yuan Qing and Yuan Xing stayed at the dessert shop all afternoon, and even had dinner with Yun Manman and Yin Qian before leaving.
Somehow, Yuan Xing had become attached to the expressionless Yin Qian, insisting on following him around calling him "brother" this and "brother" that.
Yin Qian, pursued relentlessly, had no choice but to let out his long bird tail to entertain the little kitten.
In the end, Yuan Xing finally fell asleep in Yin Qian's arms. When Yuan Qing took him, he was still muttering in his sleep: "Bird tail, bird tail..."
The young man stared at him speechlessly for a while, but ultimately said nothing. He turned and left with his messy ash-gray short hair and dragging tail.
Yuan Qing stood still, watching the black-brown tail feathers behind the young man bob up and down. Her cat paws twitched involuntarily.
It did look quite fun indeed.
At the Gaofu Town Medical Center.
In the dim isolation ward, Lu Qi suddenly raised his head, listening carefully to the sounds outside. Realizing it was Lu Xi's voice, he quietly lay back down.
Lu Xi pushed open the door carrying a package from "Perfect Sweets Shop": "General, here are today's sweets."
"I had someone queue for a long time to buy a set of cupcakes!"
"General, you have no idea how popular these cupcakes are online..."
After rattling on for a while and receiving no response, Lu Xi became confused: "General?"
A tail reached over and hooked the bag from Lu Xi's hand: "Not deaf. Heard you."
While opening the packaging, Lu Qi asked casually: "What time is it now? It must be quite late."
Lu Xi eyed the sweets in front of Lu Qi enviously, nodding: "Yes, it's past ten now. But Miss Manman said she went out to eat with Miss Yuan Qing, so she'll be back very late..."
"General, can I have one? There are six in there..."
The effects of the morning guidance sessions were the best, so Yun Manman had been staying at the medical center after closing shop these past two days, then providing guidance to Lu Qi early the next morning.
Lu Qi lowered his gaze, staring at the cartoon snake image on the cupcake, lost in thought.
For some reason, Yun Manman's sweet dimples and soft little hands floated into his mind.
So she likes me this much. Well, next time I'll reluctantly let her pet me a few more times.
"General! General!"
Lu Qi quickly used his tail to snatch away the cupcakes with cat and snake designs, tossing the rest into Lu Xi's arms.
"Tch, you're really annoying. Lu Xi, why are you becoming more and more fussy?"
Hmph, if you're annoyed then give them back to me.
And you took the best-looking two.
Don't think I don't know you're thinking about Miss Yun.
Lu Xi stared at the snake who was acting tsundere, inwardly complaining furiously.
However, the easy-going chameleon gentleman wasn't bothered at all by his general's disdain. He happily took the remaining cupcakes out to share with Miss Samoyed.
Yesterday I got quite the glare from Miss Yeye, so today I really need to make amends.
I'm also wondering if I could ask Miss Yun to help bake a color-changing chameleon cake.